Excerpt from Lives and Portraits of the Presidents of the United States, From Washington to Grant How much, for instance, at the start was done for us as a people by the choice of washington as our great leader, First in War, First in Peace, and First in the hearts of his countrymen. The nation, after more than half a century since his death, may be said, in a measure, to be living on his Virtues. He, more than any other.hero, without fear or reproach, by the purity of his life and the devotion of his whole nature to public affairs, raised the land at once to a respectable position, as he was accustomed modestly to say, among the nations of the world. His example has reacted upon the people whom he was called to represent, and doubtless on innumerable occasions has brightened the flame of patriotism and public virtue. Every statesman, and especially every President, must feel himself called upon to follow and privileged in following in his footsteps. Nor does the example Of washington stand alone in our review of the Presi dents. The adamses occupy a lofty position in our national history, in their pri vate virtues, their devoted patriotism, and independence of character. In jeffer son the nation had not only a ruler of consummate ability, but a student and philosopher, and a controlling mind among the great men of his century. The great name of madison is identified with the foundation of our liberties in the origin and adoption of the Constitution. The strength and manliness of jackson, equally illustrated in military and political life, have left their example to invigor ate the national policy of our own times. The fame 'of lincoln, consecrated by martyrdom, will be transmitted to posterity with an enduring lesson of public virtues, patriotic devotion, heartfelt love of liberty and magnanimity in the exer cise of power. The fate of garfield, cut ofi by the hand of an assassin at the very Opening of his career, will always excite sympathy as wide and deep as when the news of his murder startled the whole world. Others on the brief list have their high and enduring claims to respect. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.